


An exchange of Harries

by Bard_the_Bowman



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Picnics, Playgrounds, parks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2016-11-05
Packaged: 2018-08-29 04:57:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8476255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bard_the_Bowman/pseuds/Bard_the_Bowman
Summary: Lily told James not to lose the baby but he did it anyway.





	

**Author's Note:**

> For Sarah. Happy Birthday, Prongs!

"Come ON, James!" Lily yelled, standing by the door. Harry, wrapped up in his puffy blue jacket was sat on her hip, grabbing at her wild red hair with pudgy baby hands.

"Yes, yes, I'm just trying to put on my shoes!" James called back, sitting on the bottom step and desperately fumbling at the laces. "It's not like we have to be on time or anything, there's no limits to the park."

"I know, but we've been ready for ages." Lily complained. "And I promised Marlene I would meet her at the cafe at ten."

"I know, I know." James stood up and held out his arms for Harry. Lily passed him over and picked up a bag. "We're going to have a great day at the park, aren't we?" 

Harry giggled and tugged James' hair. James winced, but grinned. "Come on, then, you little monkey."

Lily smiled at the image of her husband and son together and held out her hand to take James'. James reciprocated and together, they twisted on the spot and disappeared. 

\---

The park was silent until, with a quiet pop, the Potter family appeared. This startled some pigeons who were pecking around and they took off with the beating of wings. Harry cooed and stretched his arms towards them, wanting to be able to touch these fat looking birds. 

Lily laughed and bent down to pick up a stray feather, giving it to the baby. Harry looked at it, poking at it with chubby fingers, before trying to eat it. He missed and it went up his nose instead, making him sneeze. 

James rolled his eyes and took it away. 

"Don't be such a fun sponge." Lily reprimanded him, sticking out her tongue. 

"He might choke." James protested. "Or catch some kind of disease. Who knows what those birds have been up to?"

Lily rolled her eyes but grinned and handed James the bag she'd been carrying. "Well, I have to go and meet Marlene. There's food in there for both of you if you get hungry. Have fun and don't lose him."

"How can you lose an entire baby?" James scoffed. "We'll be fine, love. I promise. You go and have fun with Marlene."

"If you're sure." Lily kissed them both quickly and turned to begin walking towards the town, waving over her shoulder. "Bye!"

"Ah!" Harry opened and closed his hand in her direction and both parents laughed. 

They watched until Lily had disappeared along the path, then James looked at Harry. 

"Well." He said. "What would you like to do first?" 

Harry stared at him, unblinking. 

"Swings it is." James walked over to the little playground with the brightly coloured play equipment. Going through the little gate, he put the bag by the blue bench and took Harry over to the swing, placing him in and pushing him gently. 

Harry remained unimpressed at the swings. The slide wasn't too bad, but he got bored quickly, and the roundabout made him cry. 

James was at a loss as to what to do and so after half an hour of switching between the three. 

"Right." He said, scooping up the crying Harry from the roundabout for the third time. "How about we have some food?"

Harry sniffed, but stopped crying at the mention of something to eat, so James retrieved the bag from the bench and they went over to sit under some trees at the edge of the park. 

"Stay here." James said, putting Harry down. "I have to get the stuff out of the bag."

He turned and reached in, searching around for the picnic blanket. Lily had placed an extension charm on the bag, and it was filled with food, baby items like nappies and some of Harry's favourite toys. 

Finally, James found the blanket and pulled it out, shaking it out. He turned around and placed it down on the ground, spreading it out, and turned back to find food. Suddenly, he whipped back around.

"Harry? Oh Merlin's butt crack, where's he gone? HARRY?"

\---

As soon as James had put Harry down, Harry had noticed a pigeon a short way away. Remembering the feather he had been given that morning he crawled towards it, wanting to feel the softness again. 

The pigeon, disconcerted by the movements of this little human, had waddled towards the trees. Harry followed. This continued until the pigeon finally had enough and flew away. Harry, scared by the sudden noise and breeze created by the wings, started to cry. He reached out his arms to be picked up by his dad, but then realised James was nowhere to be seen and cried even harder. 

Cracking twigs sounded off to the left and Harry stopped making noise, tearfully but hopefully looking for his father. However, it was not his father that appeared, it was a woman with short brown hair. 

"Well, you're not my Harry." Said the woman. "But you seem to be equally lost."

\---

"HARRY!" James was still searching for his child. He had considered calling Lily, but realised the amount of trouble he would get into for losing the baby when she had specifically told him not to.

"HARRY!"

A bark came from behind him and James span frantically to see a small brown daschund sprinting towards him. James looked around to see if he could find an owner nearby, but there was nobody in sight. 

"Crap." James swore, but dropped to his knees as the dog ran over. The dog jumped up trying to lick his face, but James fended it off, instead grabbing at the shiny silver plate hanging from the purple collar. All the collar said was "Harry." 

"Oh, great. Somebody turned my son into a dog."

\---

"So what's your name?" Asked the woman, picking up Harry. Harry grabbed her cheeks between his hands. 

"That's not an answer." Said the woman.

\---

"It's so great to get away once in a while." Sighed Lily, warming her hands on her cup of hot chocolate as she sat across from Marlene in the magical cafe, The Spark. "Don't get me wrong, I love them both, but they are exhausting."

There was a surprised shout as a blue, shimmering stag materialised through the wall and galloped over to their table. 

It spoke in the panicked voice of James Potter. "Harry's turned into a dog."

\---

The daschund wriggled out of James' grip and ran towards some ducks at the side of the pond on stubby legs, barking. 

James scrambled to his feet and sprinted after it.

\---

Harry was sitting on the woman's shoulders, one hand gripping her hair tightly, the other grabbing at leaves in all of the trees they passed on their way out of the little wood.

"So where did you come from?" Asked the woman.

"Gah." Said Harry, leaning forward and wiping tree sap on her forehead. 

"Oh really?" Said the woman. "I've heard it's a lovely place. Never been there myself."

\---

Lily and Marlene apparated just in time to see James dive into the pond after the daschund, which once again wriggled out of his grip and swam away, happily barking at a swan. The swan hissed and extended its wings, flapping. James splashed backwards, slipping and resurfacing with pondweed in his hair and his glasses askew. 

"Lily! Marlene!" He said in surprise.

\--- 

Harry had found another feather floating down gently through the air. He caught it, and it glued itself to his sticky, sappy hands. The woman's hair was pointing up at odd angles, also having been given a liberal coating of the amber goop.

"How did you even get that much sap from a few leaves?" Asked the woman. 

Harry stuck the feather up her nose and she sneezed.

\---

"I told you not to lose him!" Lily reprimanded James as she pulled him out of the pond. He slipped in the mud and fell back in. 

"I didn't!" He explained. "Marlene's got him!" 

Marlene was carrying the small dog. "It might say Harry on his collar, but this isn't him."

"It is possible that our son isn't the only Harry in the world, you know." Lily sighed, helping James out again. "Now where did you last see him?"

\---

The woman emerged from the trees and Harry shouted, holding up his arms and consequently tearing out a handful of her hair.

"Ow!" The woman said. 

\---

"AH!" Came a yell in a baby's voice. More specifically, Harry's.

"Ow!" Followed a woman's voice from behind them. 

They all looked to see Harry, plastered in mud, bits of leaf and a feather let go of a handful of hair which floated down the face of the woman who's shoulders he was atop. 

"Harry!" Exclaimed James and Lily at seeing their son. 

"Harry!" Exclaimed the woman at seeing her dog. 

All of them walked towards each other and met on the path. 

"I'm assuming this is your baby." Said the woman, taking him off her shoulders and holding him out, grinning at the mud covered James. "Like father, like son."

"Thank you." Said, Lily, smiling. "I believe we switched Harries."

"So that's his name." Laughed the woman, taking back her dog from Marlene. "Well, thank you..."

"Lily." Said Lily. "This is my husband James, and this is my friend Marlene."

"Hi." Said the woman, smiling at them all. "Well, I must be going. My girlfriend will be expecting me back anytime now, and I feel as if I should shower when I get home. It was nice to meet you all though." She bent down to clip a lead on to Harry the daschund's purple collar. 

"Goodbye." Said James, waving. 

"Wait, what's your name? We never thanked you for finding Harry." Called Lily.

"Oh, it's Sarah." Said the woman, smiling one last time before disappearing round the corner.


End file.
